Grindcore for Beginners Part 4 - Goregrind

Carcass
Reek of Putrefaction
Earache; 1988

So. We've dealt with the origins of grindcore, the righteous anger of Conflict, Discharge and Napalm Death - now, onto another fork in the path. Carcass' debut album was not only one of the first grindcore albums ever released, but is widely credited with inventing the subgenre of goregrind. Their sophomore effort, Symphonies of Sickness, is arguably the better album - and is certainly closer to what the band wanted from their music - but as an example of goregrind, Reek is perfect. The vocals are as gruesome as they come, the production values are so low that they're almost nonexistent, and who could possibly dislike an album with song titles like Genital Grinder and Carbonised Eyesockets?

But what really makes this album - and Carcass themselves - special is the band's sense of humour. A lot of metal and grind bands sing about gore, violence, death, etc. but Carcass are a cut above the rest because they don't take themselves seriously. Compare them to Deicide, for example. Deicide aren't a gore band, but they do work on roughly the same principles: shock everyone and teenagers will like you. Now, I'm not slagging off Deicide - they're a damn good band - but lyrically, let's be honest, how many of Glenn Benton's attention-seeking "fuck Jesus" rants can you listen to before you get bored? If the lyrics were intelligible, Deicide would be about as interesting as Marilyn Manson.

But Carcass manage to pull off the gore thing largely because they keep their tongues wedged firmly in their cheeks. They're not a full-on joke band, like Anal Cunt, but - much like The Darkness (now there's a comparison I never thought I'd make) - they realise that their music is, in many respects, quite funny, and they accept that and go with it.

But that's not to say that this album is only great because of the humour. The songs are fantastic. The riffs, the drum fills, the vocals that burble like a tar pit - all of these elements combine to make a genre-defining classic.

Also, Carcass are set to release a new album, Surgical Steel, this year.